Luke 4:25–26

Unbelief shows itself at once. "Is not this Joseph's son?" They could not deny the grace, but they despise His person… It is remarkable that He does not defend Himself by power. He works no miracle to make good the rights of His own person. Instead He appeals to the Word of God, the Old Testament Scriptures, for what suited the present time.

Long years before, the Lord had said to Israel through Moses, "Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them… and He shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain." This solemn warning went unheeded. Idolatry had been almost continuous since the time of Moses; now at last it had become universal. God had been patient a long time. At last the idolatry of the land provoked "the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger." The judgment foretold so long before was about to fall.

For three years and six months famine was to hold the land in a strangling grip. Note that this is the same length of time as the gracious public ministry of the Son of God. Soon the dry, parched ground told its own tale.

The Lord speaks of the sovereignty of God in blessing in public testimony only twice. Both times grace had been rejected. In Luke 4, first they wondered at His words of grace, then they despised Him. Then He tells them of God's sovereignty in blessing.

The moral condition of the people was such — their forgetfulness of God so appalling — that in the ways of holy government the people who held the outward place of privilege were passed over. Grace can never be inactive. It sought out suited objects for its own satisfaction in a Sidonian widow and a Syrian leper.

Sidon was under the special judgment of God, and there was a widow there, left without any human resources. She was the one to whom God sent His prophet in the days of deep distress. When Israel themselves were suffering from a terrible famine, God opened stores for the desolate woman in Sidon.

So the Lord warns His hearers what would happen to them if they refused it… It was as good as saying: "I offer grace to you with all its blessings. But if you refuse it, it will run to others." And on their stubborn refusal it has run to others. As a nation the Jews have been rejected, and the Gentiles at large have inherited the benefits of the gospel. "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles." So Elijah turned from the same stubborn people to the widow of Zarephath, a Gentile.

If the message is carried to the nations, personified by a Sidonian widow, the widows of Israel are set aside. Judgment on Israel's state opens the door for the Gentiles to receive grace. And this happens in the very territory Jezebel came from — she was the great corrupter of God's people.

Man was attracted at first, but afterwards he turned against it. This is because grace tells out the ruin of man, and it always insists on going out wherever there is need and misery.

The village to which God sent Elijah to help a poor widow. Called ZAREPHATH in 1 Kings 17:9. Identified with Sarafend: it is near the sea, about midway between Tyre and Sidon.

They could not deny the grace, but they despised His person: "He was despised and rejected by men." … It is remarkable that He does not defend Himself by power. He works no miracles to make good the rights of His own person. Instead He appeals to the Word of God, the Old Testament Scriptures, for what suited the present time. … Grace, therefore, when Israel rejects (and they were doing so now), goes out to the Gentiles. Sidon was under the special judgment of God. A widow lived there, stripped of all human resources. She was the one to whom God sent His prophet in the days of deep distress.

God had a double purpose: to sustain His servant and to bring a message of grace to the widow by him. Speaking in the synagogue, the Lord compares this message to the gospel going out to the nations beyond Israel's borders. The evangelist finds his own sustenance in bringing the good news of grace to others. But we find a third thing in Luke's account. If the message goes out to the nations, pictured here by a Sidonian widow, then the widows of Israel are set aside. Judgment on Israel's state opens the door for the Gentiles to receive grace. And it happens in the very land Jezebel came from, that great corrupter of God's people.

The Lord then closes this scene of His position in Israel. He shows that a prophet is not received in his own country. Then He asserts the sovereignty of grace seen in the ministry of Elijah and Elisha, who served while Israel had turned away from God. … but they would not have grace or goodness in God. They claimed their own righteousness and privilege. This was a most terrible blow to Israel's pride, but it was blessed grace all the same. Without sovereignty there can be no grace, righteous grace.

The moral condition of the people was terrible. Their forgetfulness of God was appalling. So in the ways of holy government God passed over the people who held the outward place of privilege. Grace can never be inactive, and it sought out suited objects for its satisfaction: a Sidonian widow and a Syrian leper.

The way the Lord states the case suggests a great honour for the Gentile widow. What followed proved it. She received rich blessing from the God of Israel in one of the darkest periods of Israel's history. Because this is true, people have rightly called Elijah "the first apostle to the Gentiles."

It was as good as saying, "I offer grace to you with all its blessings, but if you refuse it, it will run to others." Their refusal was stubborn, and it has run to others. As a nation the Jews have been rejected, and the Gentiles at large have inherited the benefits of the gospel. "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles." So Elijah turned from the same stubborn people to the widow of Zarephath, a Gentile.